An Update on Cardioprotection

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) with subsequent left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the Western world. Rapid advances in the treatment of AMI, mainly through timely reperfusion, have substantially improved outcomes in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome and particularly ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. A vast amount of research, both translational and clinical, has been published on various pharmacological and interventional techniques to prevent myocardial cell death during the time of ischemia and subsequent reperfusion. Several methods of cardioprotection have shown the ability to limit myocardial infarction size in clinical trials. Examples of interventional techniques that have proven beneficial are ischemic post-conditioning and remote ischemic per-conditioning, both of which can reduce infarction size. Lowering core body temperature with cold saline infusion and cooling catheters have also been shown to be effective in certain circumstances. The most promising pharmaceutical cardioprotective agents at this time appear to be adenosine, atrial natriuretic peptide, and cyclosporine, with other potentially effective medications in the pipeline. Additional pre-clinical and clinical research is needed to further investigate newer cardioprotective strategies to continue the current trend of improving outcomes following AMI.